FlexiLingo
Episode 72: Joe Rosenthal's "Raising the Flag on Iwo Jima" (1945)
“While the men prepared to replace the first flag, I was able to position myself for a picture, the elements of which were composed by the men themselves, and the wind, weather, midday lighting, and the luck of timing.” - Joe Rosenthal, Associated Press At the end of the war in Western Europe, with the war in the Pacific still going strong, America was a tired country that needed a patriotic jolt. You can only position yourself so well: good photographer, heroic moment of reprieve amidst the horrific fighting, camera crew tailing the soldiers, hoping to capture even...
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B2 · Upper-intermediate
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- 83% of the words are B1 or easier.
- 137 words a minute: a natural pace.
- 233 harder words (B2 and up) in the whole episode.
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This is Joe Rosenthal, former photographer in the Pacific for the Associated Press.
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Is this episode right for you?
B2 · Upper-intermediate
Comfortable if you already follow TV news
- 83% of the words are B1 or easier.
- 137 words a minute: a natural pace.
- 233 harder words (B2 and up) in the whole episode.
Transcript
The opening of the episode. The whole transcript is in the player.
harder words (B2+)
Hub and Spoke. Audio Collective. This is Joe Rosenthal, former photographer in the Pacific for the Associated Press. On top of Mount Suribachi on Iwo Jima is a monument to the man of the core who fought the Battle of Iwo Jima. On this monument is engraved a quotation from Admiral Nimitz. It says,
quote, among the Americans who served on Iwo Jima, uncommon valor was a common virtue. quote. As an Associated Press photographer, I was privileged to see truly heroic actions by men who stormed the heights and won that island. On the fifth day of the battle, when I made my way to the top of Surbachi, I was late for the first flag raising that was planted there about
1030 in the morning. And at the time I arrived, the men were preparing to replace the first flag, measuring about 3 feet by 5 feet, replacing it with a larger one, about 5 feet by 8 feet, so that it could be better seen by fighting men over the rest of the island. They of course would realize that Mount Surabachi was theirs, definitely a morale booster. While
That was the opening. The rest of the episode (39 min) is in the player: every word clickable, with translation, saved words and flashcards.
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